Chapter 6 - The Doll's Secret
My mother wrestled with the heavy steering wheel as the truck lost all power.
She managed to guide the dying vehicle onto the gravel shoulder of the highway.
The black SUV swerved aggressively and parked directly in front of us.
Four men dressed in dark tactical gear stepped out of the vehicle.
They did not look like police officers.
They looked like professional mercenaries.
My mother locked the doors and told us to get down on the floorboards.
She pulled a small revolver from the glove compartment.
Grandma asked her what exactly was hidden inside my broken doll.
My mother quickly explained that my father was laundering millions of dollars for an underground syndicate.
Before she was forced to flee, she had hidden a master encrypted hard drive inside my favorite toy.
She knew my father would never throw the doll away because it maintained the illusion of a happy family.
I frantically ripped the seam of the doll open with my bare hands.
I pulled out a small, metallic flash drive wrapped in waterproof tape.
The men outside began smashing the truck windows with heavy metal batons.
Glass shattered and rained down on our heads.
My mother raised her gun and fired a warning shot through the roof.
The men momentarily backed away to take cover.
My mother handed Grandma her cell phone and yelled at her to call a specific federal number.
She said it was a direct line to an FBI agent who had been tracking my father for years.
Grandma dialed the number as the mercenaries prepared to breach the doors.
The phone rang twice before someone finally answered.
May you like
A chillingly familiar voice echoed through the phone speaker.
It was Chloe, my father's new wife, laughing on the other end of the line.
